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Hmm, that sure is an impressive stack of boxes as usual from emazers. It certainly keeps things nice and tidy. I do this with a few of my sets as well, but I leave the boxes untaped. Fairly often I have people pick up sets rather than needing to ship them, so then I can just hand them the Lego without wasting a shipping box. I'm not drinking the Kool Aid on the only buy bulk exclusives and big sets though. There is quite clear evidence in the numbers provided on this site of other sets that have returns at least as good if not more than exclusive/big sets. The "emazers strategy" works well for investors with large amounts of capital. But for 99% of the members here that will not be the case. Most investors would be best served by employing a wide variety of strategies. Flipping, short term holds, used sets, long term holds,retired sets, and more, can and should be employed depending on the circumstances of the investor and the situation presented to them. If you are an investor trying to maximise profits from a limited amount of capital, grow your portfolio, or even just make lots of side money to fund your own collecting - I implore you to read as many of the blogs and articles we have here on Brickpicker as possible. Buy some big/exclusive sets, sure, but there are many many other great opportunities available.

I think it's rude that they just cancel a customer offer with no reason or recompense, and with all due, I also think my decision to purchase lego sets at a time when I can take advantage of the best offers also makes good financial sense so I'm not really sure a great deal of 'rethinking' is necessary.

Woot woot just got my Power Seller status too!

If I ordered a set with the understanding that I was receiving a "bonus" set along with it and I didn't get it, I would be upset as well. A company should be able to monitor inventory better than that. I believe it is false advertising to entice you with an extra set, then send you through checkout with the understanding that your will receive the set, then cancel the bonus set after the order was completed. As for Alcarin...I guess your parents didn't hug you enough.

It comes down to what works for you personally. There is no one size fits all here, that much is obvious. Everyone has different strategy, interests (in sets), and budgets, which makes it impossible for anyone to follower identical paths. Personally, if I buy a set for $15 and sell it for $25, that would be just as much of a success as buying a big exclusive set for $300 and selling for $500. Of course I have less money involved, but the return is the same %. If I bough 20 of the $15 and sold them all for this return, I net the same amount of money in theory. More work, perhaps, but maybe my budget didn`t allow me to buy them all at once, and rather picked them up over time. Just saying as an example. Point is that if you make money in the end, you`ve made a successful investment. You can be "more" successful yes, but success is success is it not? Then there is the issue of deciding how much you want to make/when to sell. If you have happy to make a 30% return on something now rather then wait another year to perhaps gain 40%, who is anyone to suggest you do something different? Everyone knows what they hope to gain, and if you gain that, you`ve succeeded IMO, regardless of whether or not they compare to the hopes/strategy of others.

"Vampire castle - Too many produced?" Tell many how many were produced and I'll tell ya if that is too many

Alot of people have been asking me why I box my Lego sets up way a head of time. "Well the main reason is its a mental thing, 10 years ago when I had 100's of lego sets laying around, 20 cases or more coming from lego now and then, at first it did not bother me as I was selling be boxed uplots of other toys to, but as I got more and more lego sets and as time went by, I started to crack, so many lego sets I was selling some stuff to early, i wasn't loosing money but on some sets instead of making $300 and up on some Potter older castles, The SW Snow Speeder Then in about 2006 thats when i started boxing all the sets up as I was getting them, see for me seeing all those unboxed sets laying around was getting to me, I just had the urge to sell even for small profits, I was Cracking. But Boxing everything up is great, only seeing brown boxes is way better for me. Plus the sets stay in perfect mint condition forever, plus sooner or later you have to box them up anyway. Take the picture with the 58 Helm's Deep and 68 Vampire castle's, well thats my TV room and I do sleep on the Sofa there, So see plain boxes everyday does not bother me, but years ago when I had 150 SW 6210 Original Jabba sail barge, 50 SW 6211 Star Destroyer allin the TV Room it was getting to me, I always the urge to sell these now, it was hard, so thats when I started boxing all sets up. See back then I had 20-30 cases of all the big star war sets,The batman sets, Indiana Jones, The harry potter castles etc. back then I wasn't buying many Exclusives as gettin all the other sets wholesale was great. I didn't really start buying the Exclusives until about 2007, I still have about 30 or so older exclusives. But since I can't buy Wholesale anymore, I am just buying 95% Exclusives and hard to find only.So I am sure alot of you new and even regular investors are starting to get the itch and can't wait to sell stuff during Christmas even for a minor or even break even profit. " Now take the Imperial Shuttle, well I have 50, its only been retired 9-10 months and its selling pretty good for that short of time, and since I paid an average of $200-210 I will sell about 10 on ebay for Christmas, same as the Potter Diagon Alley, and since I have 48 Black Pearls and 43 Queen Revenge I will do about 10 sets each on these to. As I will use the money to Buy More HH, Death Stars and a few other sets. How many of you guys look at all your stuff and say why did I buy half of that cheap stuff, that will take forever to make a buck or so, I have had about 10-15 emails from people saying they are sorry they got all the cheap crap, instead of getting the big Exclusive sets. Now you guys that just flip most of the time and do great, well thats good, but the big money is the big and Exclusive sets. Another thing for you new and even other investors I am sure the one's that are married alot of wife's are always yelling and complaining about all those Lego you are buying, if they were all boxed up they might not say that much. So all total I have about 1100 Boxed up lego sets, and about 400 unboxed, which I will be boxing 47 Jabba's Palace this weekend etc. So One Of my son's moved out so I just piled all these sets in the room last week. " So the key to long term Investing is don't crack" Now the Crawler is a one in a million deal that most of us has made thousands on.

Whether TLG has the ability to cancel promos anytime they want or whatever is one thing, but it's bad business ethics to wait until after "checkout" is complete to tell you they've done so. I wouldn't mind if it was a case of them removing it from your cart before you checked out, but dropping it from your order after you've paid seems pretty deceptive to me. If they are out, they need to communicate that or drop all indication of the promo from the site, not cancel the order after you pay.

Alcarin, if you celebrate Christmas with your family, I hope they decide not to give you any gifts this year and donate the funds to a charity in your name instead. Without telling you first... so that you have bought them gifts already. I am sure you will not be disappointed. It is their decision to make and it would be a good thing to give back to those in need. As far as LEGO canceling a promotion, I know that the small print says they can cancel the promotion at their discretion. However, their ordering system has to be smart enough that when you place an order it doesn't allow the promotion to show up in your cart before you click "Buy". Once you are presented that offer in your cart with your purchase and click "Buy", LEGO needs to honor that transaction or break trust with their customer. That is what we call Bad Business. If I was in the LEGO store and did the same transaction, and they tried to pull the promo item out of my bag as I left the store, I can promise you they would have to call security.

Finally great quality of Hobbit set pictures

Its pretty easy evidently to become a top seller guys. I normally don't like to brag (which I shouldn't because there are 1000 other members at least on this site better and more knowledgeable that me) but I am too excited right now. Top Seller Status Requirements - 100 transactions in a year - $3K in sales - 98% feedback - .3% low ratings - a bunch of other standards for not getting low ratings. I DID IT IN ONE EVALUATION PERIOD BABY!!! Thats right! I started in late August selling a lot and sept. 20th eval came in today!!! People I would like to thank: 1. Brickpicker 2. lego Minifigures - SOOOO easy to get to 100 transactions 3. The Lego 41999 - selling 2 for $450 each helped get to that 3K mark 4. People who post lots on Craigslist for cheap 5. People who list stuff on Ebay without checking its worth. 6. People who list stuff on Ebay for 99 cent auctions with a crappy listing. 7. The Best Offer Function. 8. TRU for not knowing how to enforce coupon rules on Ebay 9. The Mini VW and Clone trooper. 10. Walmart and Target Clearance. Anyway, just needed to say this. I can't wait for the seller discount. FEEbay becomes ... less-Fee-bay? Yeah, I need a new post end writer.

47 sets sold out LEGO Shop at Home for the end of October 2013....http://search2.lego.com/?q=sold+out&lang=2057&cc=US#cc=US;count=60;i=1;lang=2057;m_sort_menu=pricehigh;pt=shop;q=sold+out ( I was surprised to see Cosmic Cube Escape here) 19 sets Out of Stock or temporary OOS....http://search2.lego.com/?q=out+of+stock&lang=2057&cc=US#cc=US;count=60;i=1;lang=2057;m_sort_menu=pricehigh;pt=shop;q=out+of+stock Marked as Retiring but available - 5 ....http://search2.lego.com/?q=retiring&lang=2057&cc=US#cc=US;i=1;lang=2057;m_sort_menu=pricehigh;pt=shop;q=retiring Call to check product- 8 sets....http://search2.lego.com/?q=Call+to+check&lang=2057&cc=US#cc=US;lang=2057;q=Call%20to%20check;ns=1

its an explorer...and you're killing me hah. Look closer

All I see is a minivan and a bunch of yellow bags ;)

The Euro zone have yet to get the May 4th discount on the B Wing that the US did. We are hoping we get a crack at a 50% discount before it goes. I think the Aussies and New Zealanders and all the rest of the world would feel the same. I feel that i'm 2nd class scum in the eyes of LEGO company. I want my discount and I want it now. I'm throwing all of my toys out of my pram.

Ah sweet retirement. These are good sets, they've earned the rest.

They removed a lot of other retired products last night too. I am trying to absorb all the changes that were made... EDIT: Wish the stupid #$%^#%$ B-wing was gone.

1 week ago I bought the haunted house (with double VIP points) And yesterday I return it and buy the 4x4 crawler (with double VIP points again) And of course the lego group will deduct my VIP previous VIP point right? However they just only deduct the 199 points only ( In Canada it cost 199.99) And they haven't deduct my double 199 points I haven't ever even think of that I will get free VIP points I am so happy about that

FAIL.

There are a few on every forum, but as trolls go, ours are pretty mild in comparison with most sites. (Good job spotting early, it'll make your life here more pleasant. And, Alcarin is not 100% troll - I have actually seen him post useful things a time or three.) We all fall for him at first (well, at least I did ), and hopefully he hasn't actually run off any newbies who aren't familiar with the tactics from other sites.

By "the river" he means Amazon. It's a good goal if you have many of the same item (i.e, 50 of a set) - otherwise, sort of pointless as the featured seller buy box will sell you out quickly if you have just a few of each given item.

Now that reply is rude! Lego store is obviously the cheapest online yes...well no actually, and if you make a purchase knowing that u can get a freebie with a certain value on the secondary market then that influences your decision. Telling someone that they should rethink why your buying lego on an investment site when all that person was doing is getting the bet possible deal for himself is plain stupid! Regardless of wether lego can cancel at any time is not the point the op was making, personally, if it wasnt an exclusive set i would reject the order, so yes these "extras" that lego promote do help make buying decisions and help towards getting a good deal. It was well rude! Lol Sorry had to rant then.

If I recall correctly, there were instances of promos being missing or being doubled up before shipment during the vw mini promo. There was alot of speculation at that time also. In the end everyone got one promo per order. None missing. None doubled. Give it time. Im guessing the promo shows up in the shipment (at least I have my fingers crossed for you!).

Congrats.

It's like KISS. The have HUGE stacks of Amps behind them and most of them are empty with no speakers. Its all part of the show.

The one of main reasons for this website is maximize savings and profits when buying Legos. One way to do that is maximize freebies when Legos offer it. We try to min/max every possible savings and benefit we can get when buying Legos. But sure...yeah, everyone forget about savings and promos. We should all just be buying Legos and never get upset about losing a promo or a savings. Come on man. I would be upset to if my free gift was cancelled after the fact. I would probably cancel my order.

Rude might have not been the best word to use but a lot of members buy from Lego.com to get the bonus VIP points and special promo gifts. We specifically wait for specific months and time for those promos.

I agree with this. The one thing I have noticed in many emazer posts is he keeps telling people to put all your money in this set and that set. Like others have said, that may be his strategy and I am sure a decent one at that. But if he keeps telling everyone to buy just these sets, he will be sitting on a big pile of doo doo in the future (well maybe not that drastic). Anyhow, people do need to purchase what they feel comfortable with. Emazers has been helpful and I appreciate the images and posts, but people need to follow their own path. Nothing is guaranteed.

Welcome to Brickpicker.

There is plenty of money to be made on the smaller sets if you are paying attention to the market. How you use that (short term/long term) is up to your own strategies. I look at something like LOTR though and see plenty of dollars in it because it's Lego lifespan will die off quickly after the third Hobbit movie, and is unlikely to be seen again.

City Grand Prix Truck: $20 (Walmart sticker price) Surfer Rescue: $5.59 (Target matched own site) Friends Heartlake Vet: $36.10 (Target matched own site) Galaxy Squad CLS-89 Eradicator Mech: $28.79 (Target matched Amazon) Legends of Chima Eris' Eagle Interceptor: $18.00 (Walmart sticker price) Razar's CHI Raider: $21.00 (Walmart sticker price) Total: $129.48 Saved: $67.46 I'm definately getting the hang of things by now with all this bargain hunting. I'm turning into a real 'sale seeker'. Anywho, I ended up saving big on some odd sets yet again from Walmart followed up by some 'price match fu' at Target. This is looking to be one heck of a Christmas. :santa:

It looks like he has a pretty big house. A basement I am assuming there. Plus you can build forts in like every room!

Not me. Frankly, I look at all my stuff and think to myself, "How the hell did I manage on fitting all that into my closet?" :lol:

Just to be clear. I'm an investor but not on crack.

Don't ever leave us, justafrog! We love you! You're amazing! You're awesome!......Did I mention how amazing you are? :giveheart:

Hah, in your dreams! This site is way too valuable for anyone in business in Lego (and I intend my parting out business to become a juggernaut that strikes fear into the hearts of all who behold it) to stay away from. Besides, I like you weirdos. You're darned near as strange as I am.

Nice post, nice pics, but.....Holy run on sentence Batman!!!

hmmm, i think he was just being facetious

No. It's the Darkside Development Kit.

LEGO Shop at Home had always been the most expensive place to buy Lego. So, instead of lowering their prices, they made everyone else raise theirs. You stay classy, TLG.

Mark bought two from me yesterday. I picked up an additional three more at Hillsdale Mall and Valley Fair Mall, CA yesterday. Hillsdale still had three more after I left

All the Boxes are 24"x4"16" perfect size for the HD, VC, Falcon, Epic battle,Black Pearl Etc. Uline or Staples.

Count me as one of them - I picked up two at $30 each at the Target clearance. My first foray into Lego TMNT...and you never forget your first.

The second Christmas "giveaway" set is a set that Lego is giving away in the US on Nov 29, Nov 30 and Dec 1 for purchases of over $99.

Last year's winter exclusive set had the same narrow timeframe I think. It has a general value between $20-$35 now.

This is terrible news. No way will the output from China match the current Lego product standards. The very fact that TLG is doing this in China says they are okay with a dip in quality, because the only reason any company makes anything in China is because it's CHEAP. I will be the first to eat my words if Chinese Lego is up to par. But it won't be.

I am happy to report that the second Crawler I ordered arrived today and has an absolutely perfect box.. no hole in this one. Ed said he will take the other one off my hands so he can build it. I think I will sell it to him for $1500. What do you think?

Every time I look at this thread title I think: "There's a snake in my boot!" This is my life.

This is such a nice set, even without the Monster Fighter nametag. I would be seriously surprised if it went out this year. They could learn a thing or two from retiring Ninjago a bit early.

I'd suggest for more variety for train lovers. The passenger train really is a solid buy for the motor components, if you can find it cheap enough (better than trying to buy them from LEGO Shop at Home anyway)